'You are telling a pack of lies' prosecution grills defendant over stabbing to Joshua Folkes in Palmers Green

A 17-year-old on trial for murdering a teenager in Palmers Green has been told his account is a ‘pack of lies’ by a prosecutor.

Joshua Folkes, also 17, of New Southgate, was fatally stabbed in the early hours of December 3, 2013, in Bowes Road, Palmers Green.

The defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies the murder charge.

Two others, Kreshnik Etemi, 18, of Hill Road, in Muswell Hill, and Halil Ankay, 18, of Masefield Crescent, in Southgate were cleared this morning because of a lack of evidence against them.

Today at the Old Bailey, the unnamed defendant gave evidence to the jury for the first time and told the court about the night of Mr Folkes’ death after being questioned by his barrister, Michael Bromley-Martin.

He told the court he went to enter his flat to collect some final items before moving out but heard voices inside and decided not to enter alone, asking Mr Etemi and Mr Ankay to accompany him.

The defendant added that when he went into his room, Mr Folkes and his friend Matthew Hurly, also known as Dutch, were present and confronted him, wielding knives.

He said he and Mr Folkes began a tussle and slipped to the ground as the defendant tried to prevent Mr Folkes from stabbing him.

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The defendant claims that is when the fatal wound to Mr Folkes’ chest occurred and said that Mr Folkes ran outside after the struggle, where he collapsed and died.

This recount was branded by prosecutor Simon Mayo as “a pack of lies” when he cross-examined the unnamed defendant.

Mr Mayo said: “You are telling a pack of lies. I suggest that you took a knife to the flat to seriously injure Money J.”

The defendant said: “I did not intend to injure money J, I was defending myself.”

The defendant stated that Mr Etemi had picked up a metal pole on his way into the flats in Bowes Road.

When Mr Mayo told the unnamed defendant he was “expecting violence” when entering the flat, he dismissed the notion and said that he “wasn’t sure” who was in his flat or what they were capable of doing.

When the unnamed defendant was asked why he did not call the emergency services after seeing Mr Folkes on the floor when he ran away from the flat, he said: “I wasn’t thinking straight.”

Mr Mayo continued to condemn the evidence given by the defendant and rebuffed claims that he had not taken a knife to the scene.

He also rejected the idea that the defendant “didn’t know” how Mr Folkes ended up being stabbed in the chest.

He said: “The pathologist stated that the stab wound to Mr Folkes’ chest, which went through three layers and his heart, would have been done with a moderate level of force, not a scuffle.”

The defendant’s continued response was: “I don’t know how it happened.”

Judge Christopher Moss will give his directions to the jury before they are sent out to contemplate their decision next week.